


Onegaishimasu, she said (The Paths to the Future Remix)

by tuuli



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-17
Updated: 2012-04-17
Packaged: 2017-11-03 19:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/385277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuuli/pseuds/tuuli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, visiting the Ki'in with Hikaru, Akari happened to meet Nase Asumi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Onegaishimasu, she said (The Paths to the Future Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lacygrey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lacygrey/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Nigiri, she said](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/7956) by lacygrey. 



It was the first time she'd gone to the Ki'in. Of course, she'd passed the building many a time, and often had been eyeing it with a strange mixture of curiosity and apprehension - that place where Hikaru spent such a great deal of his time nowadays. That place which was inevitably located in a world where she didn't truly belong to.

(She wasn't, though, about to let any inevitabilities to put her down. Stubborn or just stupid? She didn't care, really.)

So, she had asked Hikaru to show her around there. It wasn't like it was closed to public, right? At least not all of it. She'd met Hikaru after school - personally she'd have preferred having had time to go home to change into something more attractive, but Hikaru had been in a hurry. A quick look at the bathroom mirror at her high school had convinced her that she did look good even in her school uniform... and all things considered, no matter what she wore, Hikaru most likely wouldn't have noticed anything.

She'd tried to chat with Hikaru when they entered the building, asking about his latest games, but Hikaru had seemed somehow distant, giving her short answers, and once they were in he'd made a beeline to the bulletin board to check name lists of the Meijin preliminary matches. 

While Hikaru was examining the list, Akari shot a curious look around. So, this was the Ki'in. It didn't seem like such a special place - but still, it had come to be of utmost importance to her. As her gaze wandered across the room, she noticed a girl who was watching her, and it took her only half a blink of an eye to recognize her.

"Nase Asumi! Wow!" she exclaimed, suddenly forgetting all about Hikaru and leaving him to look after her in confusion.

 

On the way home, she felt a little embarrassed of her sudden outburst. It was a good thing Hikaru clearly was growing up, and he didn't tease her too much about it. She'd simply been so excited having unexpectedly come face to face with her idol. Nase-san had seemed to be somewhat surprised, and then, maybe, a little flustered, but luckily she hadn't minded her over-enthusiasm. They'd chatted a bit, talked of go and then of Hikaru and his goofiness, and she'd been so happy to realize that in addition to being a great go player and a strong young woman, Nase-san was also a very nice person.

And then, out of the blue, Nase-san had suggested - Akari wouldn't have even dreamed of doing so - that maybe she could come to visit her go club one of these days. Akari couldn't stop grinning as she walked onward, so excited she was almost bouncing. Wait till they'd hear! Wouldn't this give quite a boost to her club! She and Hikaru said goodnight at her gate, and as she watched him walking away she concluded with a small sigh that today hadn't made them any closer than they were. Still, this little excursion to the Ki'in was hardly a waste. Excitement still bubbling inside her she went in and straight to her room, where she sat down by her go board.

It was only in the night, when she was lying in her bed telling herself she should stop thinking about it so she'd finally fall asleep, that she felt a tiny pang of jealousy. How different she was from Nase Asumi! She had, in the end, gotten herself into a decent high school, and there wasn't really any reason to doubt she wouldn't be able to lead a good life. A comfortable job, husband, kids... all in her reach. But... it would be an ordinary life. Ordinary job. ...ordinary husband.

Whereas Nase - she was making herself a life in a world that was far out of her reach. In men's world. (Hikaru's world, a quiet voice whispered.) She would be something, someone; she already was. Thinking of these two paths to the future, one safe and conventional, the other challenging everything, both herself and the world she currently lived in, Akari felt no doubt which she would choose. If she only could.


End file.
